RATS ON BOARD FORCE QANTAS TO GROUND JET

SYDNEY - Australian airline Qantas was forced to ground a plane after flight attendants found five rats in the cabin just minutes before passengers were due to board. Crews did a visual check of the plane on Tuesday afternoon and found no more rats or any damage. The rodents had been in a cabinet holding a defibrillator. The plane returned to service Thursday morning.
Passengers had not yet boarded the Sydney-to-Brisbane flight and were instead put on another plane.
A Qantas spokeswoman called the incident "very unusual." She declined to be named, citing policy. But Scott Connolly of the Transportation Workers Union told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio that members have had concerns about hygiene and sanitation on Qantas flights. The spokeswoman denied that was the case. "This is a very irregular occurrence," she said.

Source: Agency